What with the latest round of job losses and the seemingly interminable decline of the firms which make things?

True, China and India are going great guns at the moment, with their skilled but relatively cheap labour pools attracting production from around the world.

But manufacturing, the skill of producing objects, remains vital to our national wealth and we are not doing too badly.

Its value in absolute and relative terms may have declined recently, with property overtaking it as the main wealth generator in the West Midlands.

But without the jobs and wealth created from manufacturing, where does the money come from for property investments, retail spending and the rest?

Meanwhile, us Brits love to talk ourselves down and get into a state about manufacturing, but really there are a lot of success stories.

While we don't have a divine right to success, more different car manufacturers make their vehicles in this country than anywhere else, and that includes the US, France, Spain, China and Brazil.

Why? Well the productivity levels are pretty good.

The car makers are not charities and when it comes to location, location, location - cost, cost, cost is still one of the primary considerations.

The Nissan plant in Sunderland is the most productive in the world, while Ford's Halewood factory on Merseyside is the best performing the American company has. Closer to the Midlands, all the four-cylinder engines for BMW are currently made at its Hams Hall plant in Warwickshire.

The new Mini, has been a roaring success, with almost every component sourced in the UK.

The only outstanding part - the engine which is currently built in Brazil - is also going to be produced in the UK soon.

Meanwhile, 70 per cent of all airport x-ray machines are made at a firm near Watford, while the new helicopter for the US president is going to be made in Yeovil. Which, I suppose, is a nice link to our aerospace industry.

Per capita, Britain has the biggest aerospace industry in the world, while even in absolute terms it is second only to the Americans.

Dozens and dozens of firms are involved in the Airbus consortium, where 75 per cent of the engines have been researched, designed and built in Britain.

The wings are also being produced in Britain, which as CBI Director General Sir Digby Jones said the other day: "The French screw it together, the Germans make the fuselage, but the clever stuff is all British."

Manufacturing is alive and well in this country, but no longer can British firms compete on price alone with the likes of China and India in town.

But to do this we are going to need a better skilled workforce who can make the more innovative, high-quality, value-added products.

Quite simply, UK Plc does not have enough engineers and innovators. So, manufacturing is on the ropes, but it ain't knocked out yet.